Pop country duo Florida-Georgia Line is the king of Summer 2013 so far with their super-hit “Cruise” dominating the country music charts. But the question that often comes up about the duo is what exactly does the short, blond-haired Brian Kelley do in the band? The longer-haired Tyler Hubbard seems to be the only voice you hear prominently in the vocal mix, and though Brian Kelley is commonly seen holding a guitar, he doesn’t appear to be handling any of the guitar solos, or really fulfilling any significant function of the Florida Georgia Line sound.

Because country music award shows break down accolades according to solo performers, duo, and groups, country music’s major labels will many times formulate or aggressively promote an act to take advantage of a weak category in hopes they will garner more attention. It may be Big Machine Record’s plan with Florida-Georgia Line to take advantage of the openings that emerged in the duo category with the departure of Brooks & Dunn, and the hiatuses of Sugarland and The Civil Wars by pushing the Florida-Georgia Line duo instead of Tyler Hubbard solo for example. Like Teller of Penn and Teller, Brian Kelley is just sort of “there” to qualify for the duo distinction.

But Saving Country Music has discovered that Brian Kelley actually does have some responsibilities in the duo. As you may or may not know, Saving Country Music has moles planted throughout mainstream country’s vast industrial complex, reporting back critical information and insightful data on a daily basis. One such mole, at the risk of life and limb we might add, smuggled the daily checklist sheet that Brian Kelley must fill out per Big Machine’s requirements. The document is quite a revealing window into the actual functions and responsibilities of Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley.

The actual smuggled document (transcribed below):

__ 1. Hold back Tyler Hubbard’s hair when he vomits his designer drugs into the toilet.

__ 2.Check ID’s of groupies to make sure they’re older than 18, but younger than 18 1/2.

__ 3.Issue fake ID’s to groupies younger than 18.

__ 4.Look really, really pretty at all times.

__ 5.Make sure Tyler Hubbard’s penis pump is securely fashioned in its dedicated stowaway compartment on the tour bus before the bus departs.

__ 6.Measure Tyler Hubbard’s penis.

__ 7.Make sure Antares Auto-Tune software in concert sound system is updated, backed-up, and virus scanned before each performance.

__ 8.De-shell 50 M&M’s, put them in Tyler Hubbard’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers cup, and place beside his bed in the bus.

Wow, I never thought about it like that but its a pretty brilliant theory. Florida Geroge Line is a lot easier to remember and build a brand off of than “Tyler Hubbard.” Plus duo’s generally have more success than bands in Country.

I found this on youtube a while back. Chase Rice, who I gather is a co-writer of the song, brings Mr Kelley on at about 2:20. He says “Let’s see your vocals. I hear they’re rough.” Maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems like the guy doesn’t want to sing into the microphone much.

Yeah, you could kind of tell he was purposely trying to not sing. Like he was just trying to be “hype” and sing when the fans where to shield his own voice. And whenever you did hear him, you could tell his sucked… Badly.

BK actually does not suck at singing. If you listen to a song where he has a solo, he sings quite well. If you’re thinking they autotune him, you’re wrong. Here is a live acoustic version of “Tip It Back” where he has a solo at approximately 1:03. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJKCt7y9KCA
A possibility as to why he does not sing much is maybe the songs just sound better with Tyler’s type of voice. Tyler’s voice is higher-pitched and has more of a country accent to it while BK’s voice is lower-pitched and doesn’t have much of an accent. Get the facts before you assume.

Is this Chase Rice guy actually a popular artist performing a show, or is this filmed at a frat party? I can’t tell. And even when Brian Kelley gets the spotlight, he sings a few words, and proceeds to clap/ fist pump/ fake laugh along with the teenage girls with iPhones. He serves no purpose to this performance, this song, or this genre.

Chase is actually tearing up the club circuit, selling out almost every show. I personally think his voice is a bit rough and off key, but he sings and writes fun songs. That’s all it is, fun. Except Room 205. That’s his “Thunder Rolls”….

Ok how do u not know this is fake alright brian kelley can sing yes, Tyler had more solo parts than Brian but in the main course of the songs they both sing!! And brian plays lead in people back home and he sings a whole solo part on Ellen that Luke Bryan sings In this is how we roll and it was amazing , honestly when he sang that LIVE !! I thought his singing was better than Tyler’s so y’all can quit talking junk about him , also this website needs to take off all this stuff he said and what he ” does for Tyler” u no that’s not true because have u watched any of there youtube videos he is a very important part in FGL if they didn’t have Brian there would never have been a FGL in the first place so people that comment hurtful things about him on here I hope it makes u feel good to be putting an amazing singer like
Him down and make him have a bad day!

Ok first of all u don’t know him ,
I don’t know him either so how do u no he does drugs? U don’t ! Ya I’ve seen pictures where he has a beer in his hand so don’t all people his age and younger drink , maybe some don’t but I bet u have b4 ya maybe he does do drugs but
We don’t no ya he makes money at what he does , BECaUSE HE IS GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES! Have u ever seen them play live , search up on youtube tip it back live or people back home
Live and u can see how amazing his voice is and he also has solo parts on other songs and ya maybe it doesn’t ruin his day but it is still very rude for people to comment all these
Nasty , hurtful comments about him , there just JELOUS and will Blevieanything the media posts , I hope u no most of the stuff they post isn’t true

As soon as I saw the headline, I figured maybe the long-haird guy couldn’t cut it as a solo artist, but also thought there’s already too much competition among groups of three or more members (Zac Brown Band, Lady A, The Band Perry, Little Big Town, Eli Young Band) — so I could see why forming a “duo” would be the best way to stand out and get noticed. (Among duos, FGL’s closest competition right now is probably Thompson Square, but I doubt they have nearly as much airplay or visibility.)

Careful, Trig! If this catches on and gets a lot of viral “Shares”, you might just send Brian Kelley into quarterlife crisis-mode and thus instigate the break-up of Florida-Georgia Line before they have the chance to fill football stadiums! 😉

Sadly, the sheeple who are fans of corporate Nashville country music couldn’t care less if this duo doesn’t have any real talent. The 13-31 year old demographic eats this mess up, buys the music, and goes to the shows.

GAC last weekend showed legions of fans standing in line for hours to get an autograph from these two clowns at CMA Fest, weekend before last.

haha, you guys have officially ruined this guys career like milli vanilli. I think its marketing not everyone likes a long hair guy so they stick the short haired guy to get the other half like the boy band markets a member for every girl. What about love and theft? they have no business being country, they are more like bbmak and during in the concert they were speaking ebonics, sidways hats earrings ugh

Love and theft are country and they have many features to their music like rock and I’ve seen them in concert. As well I have seen fgl in concert and both are real and authentic I feel that y’all just want to bash country music especially the now popular and successful artists. So please – shut up!

Scotty Borchetta has more of a feel for what the Top 40 AirHead Country Radio marketplace is after than any other Nashville label honcho. Scott knows how to give the unwashed masses what they want, and right now it’s Florida Georgia Line! Crikey! Having two guys fronting the group for the teenybopper girls to text and tweet about gives them more for their money.

I wonder if the low key duo from a few years back “Hometown News” could have found radio success if they had been working with Scott and the Big Machine label? Naw, I don’t think they had it in them to sell out and make bombastic drivel just to make a buck.

I know this sounds snarky, but i could care less about this. I love this site for the reviews. And i understand not everyone reads the album reviews. These guys are not even funny bad. However, any joke referencing Power Rangers is good in my book.
*still waiting for a review of Brent Amaker and the Rodeo.

Yeah they might be a category filler. Brooks & Dunn formed when a label exec paired them up because they already had solo acts and needed a duo. Kix talked about it at a label party, saw it on youtube. The difference is (based on what little I’ve heard of FGL) Brooks & Dunn are far more talented. Most of the male songs going to country radio have rough or average vocals and lyrics.

I wonder if it was him that I heard singing “Cruise” live and acoustic on one of the Sirius stations a few weeks back. If so, it is a good thing they don’t let him sing any other time. It was shockingly bad (even my 10 year old son had a WTF look on his face).

I am a singer and I have bad days but this seemed like a lot more than a bad day (someone forget the pitch correcter perhaps).

Are you sure that you aren’t confusing your own voice to the cats? Anyway brian has a very low voice so its hard to hear with Tyler because he sings in a higher octave. Usually the higher octave is overpowering and can dominate the other sounds.

OR- maybe you just have no clue as to what it takes to be in the business and maybe you yourself are just ignorant and jealous of his success and wish you had half the talent he has among others in this truly talented genera of music and have no life so you spend your days replaying their songs and wishing you could be them. Haha please just get a life.

For my tastes their voices actually aren’t low enough on these recordings, because you can actually hear sound coming out when they’re played. If you put them on mute however, Florida Georgia Line sounds just fine.

I’d guess the year was probably the 50’s or 60’s The year isn’t what my point was, you commented on harmonies I was showing what really harmonies sounds like. The Louvin Brothers were one of the most influential duo in country music.

Has Kelley co-written any of their songs? I understand that Kix Brooks may not be doing a lot of singing but he’s had a hand in writing some of Brooks and Dunn’s greatest songs. Dave Haywood of Lady A is also there not just for back up vocals but he also writes and plays a lot of instruments.

Kix used to sing on a bunch of their singles and brought them plenty of success. Then around 1998 he was silenced and their honky-tonk sound was abandoned so Ronnie Dunn could sing flag-waving soccer mom songs.

You obviously have never heard them live or listened to any of their other music. These boys are crazy song writers and have really great vocal abilities. They put on a spotless live show with amazing vocal control and are very talented musicians. I really can’t believe this article has been published because its about the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.

Tyler and Brian went to college together, where they started writing songs and became good friends. It’s not like Tyler was going around doing his own thing and a label said he needed Brian. They’re friends, pretty simple. Just because they have upbeat party songs that everyone loves does not mean that they are “pop”.

Get a day job and leave that sexy man alone. Tyler Hubbard couldn’t make it alone because Brian Kelley is the good looks in this duo. Plus, Brian Kelley’s voice is much nicer to hear, his partners twangy notes gives me a headache.

Hey y’all need to be quiet because I’m sure everybody is smart enough to know that this is extremely fake. He does sing and he has a bunch of solos. He’s really good at what he does and if he has seen this I bet it hurt his feelings. He is an amazing singer and song writer. He has an amazing voice that is really nice to hear and it’s a nice break from Tyler’s twang. Yeah, Tyler gets the spotlight most of the time but it doesn’t mean that Brian is just a pretty face. Whoever put this up should be ashamed and should take this off the Internet if they have any decency. So get a life and I bet you don’t even know him. You shouldn’t even be saying this stuff. This is his career and his life. He loves music and will do anything in his power to make Florida Georgia Line work. This music is his life and he cares about his work. So, I hope he sets records that no other singer could ever reach in their life. He seems like a great Christian guy and I don’t know how anybody could possibly want to say these awful things about him.

I’m pretty sure what he does is roll around on piles of money every night, with the blessing of me and millions of other people. Life is short. Enjoy what you want, and let everyone else enjoy what they want. Peace.

You people really need to get a life and quit hating on people who have talent just because you don’t!! Tyler and Brian met in college and formed an unbelievable friendship built on their love for writing lyrics. Both Tyler and Brian (BK) have written/co-written lots of songs together. After college they started playing small gigs and have worked their asses off to get where they are. Tyler has an amazing voice and just so happens to sing the main vocals on their songs!! That doesn’t make BK any less talented!! They put on an AMAZING live show and if you opened up your small little pathetic minds you would see/hear that!! Y’all are so busy hating them that you can’t even see that they are actually good guys, great performers and talented musicians. I for one hope that they are around for a really long time … and judging from what we’ve seen so far … seems like they will be!! Oh, before some jackass decides to declare me as some mindless teeny bopper … I’m 46 yoa and not easily impressed!! These guys are actually really good!!

Really? Is that all you do? Just dis people with talent? Maybe he isn’t lead in every song but neither is Tyler. If you actually knew something about them and listened to all of their songs you would realize they’re both amazing singers. You’re probably just jealous because you can’t sing and don’t have a career like theirs.

OK to all the people butt hurt over this post…grow up. Is any of this post true? Hell no..is it funny as shit? Hell yes! The headline does however make a valid point. If BK’s role in FGL, then his presence should be amplified on the next album. The grammy’s are a crock, but they don’t shell them out based on tour performances, record sales, or even hot n sexy videos. So to be a force in this biz he is gonna have to show us more of talents I’m sure he possesses. But this was good for a laugh.
thanks guys!

I just had front row seats to their concert last night.. I found this page after literally searching “why is Brian in Florida Georgia Line?”
As a team they put on a hell of a show, but Tyler carries them the whole way. Brian does a lot of running around and fist pumping. He looks like he is singing but you can’t hardly ever hear him. He seems to be a below average singer who is there just for show, I guess to be the clean pretty boy. Tyler is definitely the real deal though. I’m not hating, just saying, because it obviously works for them. Like I said earlier, the show was still awesome.

Just found this article and wanted to say that you’re exactly right! Having seen them in concert two times (as an opening act), you’re assessment is spot on…Tyler carries this group. I was floored at the actual amount of time that Brian held the mic in front of him–he was all over the stage both times doing everything else. Makes me wonder if there is any resentment there.

Have any of you guys heard their song, “People Back Home?” BK songs the chorus and he does a fantastic job singing it live. Just because Tyler is the main voice Of the band, doesn’t mean that BK can’t sing. Because he can.

Oh, and I’m not just some “hater”, which, BTW, is some ghetto-fabulous ebonics term.

I’ve been a performing songwriter for over 20 years now. No, I’m not going to drop any names. It doesn’t matter. I’ll never be a Ken-doll bobblehead like those two.

Who gives a crap if someone is “hot”? Ernest Tubb was a homely man; I’m sure his momma loved his face. He was also one of the finest singer/writer/performers in the history of American music, and that’s WITH a shaky voice and WITHOUT Auto-Tune.

Now all the little girl comments can get directed at me for a while… I guess they all got tired of filling up every other message board with their breathless gushing over these two funny bro-back-music “stars”. Yuck.

Hah! I’m a huge Florida Georgia Line fan, especially of tyler <3 so this made me die laughing. I've always thought Brian as a backup singer. If you listen to their song "Country in my Soul" Brian sings quite a bit. Still think Tyler's voice is better, maybe that's why the song wasn't too popular ;D

Just for the record Brian Kelley writes or co-writes all of FGL’s songs. AND co-wrote a lot of Chase Rice’s songs! Also for those of you who are bashing Chase Rice he will be the first one to tell you he just wanted to be a song writer but had so much positive response from fans on stage that he is performing now as well. For those of you who have never seen him in person he is AMAZING! Period. So is FGL Brian Kelley included! I have seen FGL 3 times and will soon see Chase for a third. Best money and time I have ever spent! You all need to research before you bash! Don’t mess with country music fans! Oh and if you don’t like someone just keep if to yourself. No one needs to hear you complain for no reason.

Brian lives in my hometown, and I feel he does sing and contributes to the group. When you listen to
Brooks and Dunn, you will have one main singer. He also helps in writing songs which is extremely important. the same as what Brooks did. People have to always be negative. Brian is the nicest person
and has worked real hard to make this duo happen with the help of his parents.

Ok, tbh, I love Florida Georgia Line. And it`s true, Brian barely sings in the songs. But either way, they work well together. Their songs are great. And yes, there is a slight grammatical error in Cruise, but Brian once said that the line was actually supposed to be, “Baby you like a song you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise,” but they shortened it. Even though I live FGL, I found this kind of funny. You just have to have a sense of humor. Some of them weren`t funny. But “Never talk to the media about your unhealthy obsession with My Little Pony,” Now, I find that one funny. I have a question for anyone who used to watch their Inside the Line web-show, who remembers the hacksaw Jim Duggie?